Armoured Recce Troop Belize 1977 - Whenever

Clanker

Picked up a thread from reply by Busted CAT 79 and we both think it is worth a thread of it's own. Scots DG provided the Armd Recce Troop Belize from 77 - 79. I was in the first troop to go, we took over from the LGs but if my memory serves me well they had only been there a couple of months basically set up camp and took over the vehicles 6 CVR(T), 3 scorpion and 3 Scimitar. Don't think they even had the opportunity to take the vehicles out of camp. By the end of our tour we had travelled the length and breadth of the country including setting up a firing range on Mountain Pine Ridge. Managed a trip to Mexico City on R&R. 6 months of sun and sea was what we were after didn't realise that our last two months would coincide with the monsoon season so came back more rusty than tanned.
Busted mentioned Belikan beer, Charger was the preferred tipple along with rum & (carnation) milk (yeuck) back in Mar - Sep 77 for the first three months we did nothing but sunbathe then the Guatemalans had an election and one party promised that if they were elected they would invade Belize and return it from the imperial Brits to the republican Guats things got serious for a bit San Ignacio was evacuated we recced positions on the border and set up a forward waiting post in Plassey Camp. First Harriers arrived our Tp Ldr even gave us the old churchillian lecture slightly adapted to remind us this wasn't our home land we were going to defend. Didn't need to worry we were only there for the sun and beer a la Club 18/30. Needless to say in typical politician fashion after they got elected they whelched on their promise and everything got back to normal. Everything except sending the Harriers back to Blighty with nothing better to do the Fly boys buzzed Holdfast Camp for the rest of the tour every morning at about 06.30 they flew so f**king low they had to bank to miss the water tower
Other memories: Stims, monsoon ditches, nissan huts that heated up like a tin of sausage and beans in a BV, fresh orange juice, gorqeous coffee coloured girls, until you saw their Mitchelin X tread feet!!!, swing fog just when you were having a dump, long week ends on San Pedro, avoiding trips along that excuse for a main highway to Airport Camp, boots Barabus (Army issue Jesus sandals), stockings footless ours were bright yellow, bush hats, sweatrags, 'Aint Half Hot Mum' baggy shorts and best of all we convinced the CSM of the PBI Company (1st Queens) that a CVR (T) could not be driven at less than 25 miles an hour hence we could hammer around the camp flicking stones and gravel into the monsoon ditches his pet hate and the PBI spent all day picking them up. Happy days. Any more memories of Sunny Belize?

Old-Salt

... In the early 80's I remember the sporadic visits from our friends in 22 up at Holdfast. You'd go for your early morning PT at 0600 and by the time you'd returned there'd be a couple of green 'pink panthers' on the 'tank' park, crews of which had 'disappeared' into the ooloo. You'd quite often see 'em a couple of days later having brekkie in the cookhouse hut. So as to make them feel welcome in the future we got our tech rep at Airport Camp to get a small door sign knocked up. Glad to say that our 'vistors' appreciated it the next time they called. The WOII chef wasn't that impressed tho'! Can't understand what his problem was all it said was 'Who Dines Dares'.

GCM

two tours, 86 & 87, Imphal and Ramielles(?) troops, we got there to find 3 Scorps and the 3 Scimitars which we replaced with 5 Scorps. Had to do the second tour to pay off Mr Access and Mr Visa from the first!

... we took over from you and inherited 'Biffa' the parrot, least ways thats what we called him/her? We also got the pleasure of blitzing off all the ammo used during the September crash out. A fun day out was had by all up at Baldy Beacon ranges. A fair few cars and pick ups went 'missing' from San Ig immediately before that, never had so many hard targets! It's amazing what you can fit onto the back of a flatbed with a hiab.